The Imperial Coroner

An Accidentally Great Mystery

I went into The Imperial Coroner with absolutely zero expectations. One bored evening, nothing to watch, clicked play on a whim. And then whoops. I got hooked. What I thought would be background noise turned into a full on binge, and I ended up having way more fun than expected.

The story unfolds during the Tang Dynasty under Emperor Xuanzong, a time when the court was basically a political tug of war. Eunuchs held alarming power thanks to their control over the imperial guards, emperors were trying to claw authority back, and succession was anything but smooth. All of this historical messiness actually matters, because it fuels the motivations, secrets, and long running grudges that drive the plot forward.

Chu Chu is a young coroner from the quiet corners of Qianzhou who heads to Chang’an to earn her credentials. She is earnest, idealistic, and very serious about dead bodies. Her sharp observations catch the attention of Prince An, Xiao Jinyu, the head of the Three Judicial Offices. What starts as routine casework slowly connects to an old unsolved mystery tied to a missing person from decades earlier, and from there the story snowballs into a conspiracy with roots buried deep in the past.

Despite the title, this drama is not solely Chu Chu’s show. Jinyu is really the mastermind who ties everything together, and the narrative leans heavily on his intelligence and intuition. Some viewers might struggle with Chu Chu’s wide eyed innocence and limited range of expressions, which sometimes clash with how brilliant she is supposed to be.

This is a plot first drama, so most characters are not deeply layered, but they are all competent and useful, which I loved. Jinli and Lengyue handle the physical side of things and bring military and Jianghu knowledge. Jingyi plays investigator, errand runner, and comic relief all at once. The cast is young and a bit green, yet their chemistry is strong enough to carry the show. The real scene stealers, though, are the eunuchs Qin Luan and Sun Mingde. Qin Luan in particular is deliciously clever and manipulative, easily one of the most entertaining characters. He honestly could go toe to toe with any legendary schemer. I also find his obsession with mustache to be quirky, weird, yet oddly hilarious.

One of the drama’s biggest strengths is how it visualizes complex ideas. Autopsies, hidden messages, chess games, riddles, and codes are all presented in ways that are easy to follow without feeling dumbed down. You are not really invited to solve the mysteries yourself, but watching Jinyu unpack each detail is still satisfying. That said, the overarching mystery stumbles near the finish line. While all the threads do come together neatly, the main villain is revealed too early and without much impact. Instead of feeling like a brilliant chess match, it feels like the antagonist suddenly starts making sloppy choices. A character built up as highly intelligent ends up panicking, exposing themselves, and handing over clues that are far too easy to decode. The final stretch lacks tension, and after a certain major reveal involving a witch doctor, everything that follows feels progressively less exciting.

Even with those flaws, I genuinely enjoyed this drama. What started as a boredom watch turned into something clever, charming, and consistently engaging. It is not perfect, but it is one of the stronger plot driven Chinese dramas out there, and well worth your time if you like smart mysteries with a likable team at the center.

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An Intelligent, Captivating, Direct and Smooth Sailing Drama~!!

I'm full of Adjective and Praises. But let me use those 4 as my main subject to elaborate and discuss how spectacular this production is.

Honorable Mention!! I specifically love the little black and white imaginary space Chu Chu and Jinyu's creating whenever they're to re-enact and solve the case. Most of the time it provides the most skinship and romantic interaction from the both of them. Love it so much. <3

Intelligent - This show just kept on showing and shoving things right into your face. The cases and mysteries that are being handled were all complex and tricky but that didn't stop them from presenting us with such high accuracy explanation but also kept ME, personally, in awe at how splendid and well-constructive they were. A true Masterpiece!!

Captivating - The main leads and their chracters visuals might have been the expected icon when I mentioned the word 'Captivating' but that's not just that; The real reason why I love this drama so much is how the Characters behave and display their characteristics in a clever yet silly, sassy and entertaining way. I'm glad that they all have their own distinctive roles to show and they all nailed it. Wanna give credits to all the actors and actresses for doing a magnificent job. <3

Direct - Most of the dramas are flooded with bunch of plots and twist before going into the main hurdle just to show the heaviness and complexity of the final disaster the Protagonists have to went through; yet this drama chose the completely same plot but made it more direct and straightforward. They focused on 1 definitive subject then provided clues that will eventually gathered all the other hidden tricks and flaws and finally ended it with a Marvelous series of mind-blowing strategies and scheme to finally finish the main antagonist.

Smooth Sailing - Honestly, this is base on how I was shock to know that I'm passed the 3/4 of the drama even before I realized it. It completely caught me off guard on how smooth yet entertaining the whole drama is. Not even once this drama made me felt bored or tired of watching it. It always offers new, unique and interesting set of topics to watch and never failed in making them great. Hahaha~ This sound so biased but I'm just really in awe on how well-made and produced this drama is.

Story - 10, Story is a cut from the most excellent script there is and it never failed to showcase how good it is. I wanna commend the writer, producer and everyone who worked behind the camera to make this drama as great as it is right now.

Acting/Cast - 10, They portrayed their characters the best and even owned all of them. I enjoyed it so much thanks to their neat and clever execution of their scenes. I got nothing to say but words of love, adoration and praises.


Music - 10, Honestly, Music and BGM is the least focus of this drama but i'm quite satisified on how they didn't overly rely on BGMs and Music to set the mood. I also love the mysteric and quite thrilling opening instrumental of the drama. It reminded me a lot of those times I was watching The Lost Tomb Series and I just love it a lot.

Rewatch Value - 10, I would watch it again for sure. No words and flowery words needed. This drama will remain special and memorable on its own. I highly recommend this drama to everyone regardless of the genres they like.

Overall - 10, Perfection and Impressive. I honestly got no comaplaints and was extremely satisfied on how things went through. It was an easy drama to watch that will surely satisify anyone without any doubt.

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

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Great suspenseful drama

The drama is excellent and kept me on my toes from the beginning. The pace is quick, and the heroes are both exciting and lovable. While every episode up to 16 provided some clues, they were never enough to guess who the heroine's family was and where the hero's father could be. However, it was clear from the little clues that she was not a peasant and could marry her prince.

Despite all this, I must point out that the director and scriptwriter are to blame for many stupid acting choices, such as the bang on the door and the plant sent to the villain or the lousy eunuch's crazy acting with his two sidekicks and the brother repeatedly insisted that sharing important information was too complicated. These little things were very childish and spoiled an otherwise excellent drama.

I found the heroine's competence and the non-genre bias to give her the coroner position to be the most enjoyable aspects of the story. Though unrealistic, it still pleased me. However, I couldn't help but feel very annoyed by the main female lead's blind trust and submissive attitude. I have to be honest, I disliked her. Despite being good at her job as a coroner, her character adds no value to the drama. Her personality is dull and irritating. I strongly believe that she lacked the necessary confidence, charisma, and maturity for the role. Despite possessing acting talent, she came across as too infatuated with her pop artist idol at first sight and lacked the required edge. Therefore, I believe that casting her was not the right decision.

Let's be clear, If you're looking for a love story, look elsewhere because this drama doesn't deliver. The main couple lacks chemistry completely. However, the second couple is much more believable—the main plot centers around two opposing sides in a fierce battle. One group intends to take over the throne and dethrone the Emperor, while the other is determined to stop them at any cost.

I found the reconstitution of scenes and multiple-camera shots highly effective in providing a better perspective, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The drama director presented the audience with an incredibly captivating view. The music was frequently disruptive and bothersome. The way the story ended left me feeling disappointed. After all the ups and downs, the final two minutes seemed out of place and didn't quite fit the rest of the plot. It was like a sudden change in tone that took away from the overall experience.

ML episode 32 deserves a standing ovation for his exceptional acting. The casting team missed a big opportunity by not choosing another female lead to showcase the actor's talent. It's a shame because it would have added more highlights to the movie. On the other hand, the performance of the evil eunuch was outstanding and cannot be overlooked.

I must emphasize that the generic first season used here is simply outstanding. It has a striking resemblance to the iconic Game of Thrones. This is a job very well executed!

Overall, it is a good drama if you do not expect a love story.

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One big jigsaw puzzle that is waiting for you to reveal.

It has been a long while I am so excited about a drama. Most dramas I watched flop big time after the mid mark but this drama kept me glued on from start till the last episode!

Intriguing story and interesting plot. Everything and everyone is eventually linked together like a big jigsaw puzzle. And I really mean everyone, every little things and actions. It makes you curious, kept you guessing and excited for the next episode. The week has never been that long.

The characters are realistic and they play their roles well. FL is from the village, money is of importance to her, so naturally she is calculative. ML is a Justice High Officer, of course he is skeptical about everything . Our ML is well mannered and sensible despite being a high ranking noble. Such a refreshing change as I am sick of bratty, chauvinist, arrogant and rude ML. ML micro expression is really spot on. You can literary read his emotions from the look of his face. Especially when he is mad, trust me.. you can feel it that he is really MAD. But when he is happy, you can feel his face glows up with that small smile.

And most importantly, this drama has none of those annoying fillers, dam-in-dis (damsel in distress), product placements and characters that are so badly written - you wish they would disappear immediately. A true rare gem indeed.

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This has everything I needed

I must say that this is one of the best dramas I have ever watched. It has everything. It was funny, there was mystery, there was romance. There were no filler episodes and while I almost always skip parts when they are boring for me, I did not have to do it with this one.
One thing that is unique is that everytime FL spoke about anything her work there were illustrations. What was also very good were recreations of the murders with the main characters.
Relationship between all four main characters is amazing. There is no cattiness between female leads, no backstabbing. They are actually friends and more. And the relationship between brothers is also very good, na rivalty, just brotherly love. There also are not any misunderstanding that were not solved in the same or the next episode.
The story is very well paced, I did not feel bored or rushed. Last three episodes have little faster pace but do not leave any loose ends or plotholes so you just feel excited instead of rushed.
There is so many funny moments but it is not parody like humour. There are also sad moments and I have to applause to the actors because they did incredible work.

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Loved it! What an unexpected gem!

First, at 36 episodes, having no boring or lagging bits is a miracle.
I was so impressed at how they made it so modern and accessible for young people who grew up watching CSI and House MD, and yet kept the flavor of it so traditional Chinese. The perfect balance between comedy and seriousness was kept as well.
It's the sort of drama that has you falling in love with the main characters but also with the supporting cast and even the bad guys. They are all so well-rounded with strengths and weaknesses. Chu Chu and the prince were so refreshing as leads: you don't often see badass nerds as the heroes of a show.
And I loved the soundtrack, again with the balance of modern and traditional.
The thing that struck me the most though, was reading that this drama is considered low budget. How could that be, when it felt so opulent with all the lovely costumes and horses???
Recommended to anyone who loved the Korean classic Jewel In The Palace and its message of a strong and highly professional woman, even in the old times.

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Intelligent Detective Story

I can't convey how much I love this show. It was a random show I found on YouTube and was hooked immediately because of the storyline, the dialogue, and the adorable young actors. I know they're green and need more experience to become better, but it didn't distract from the story. I appreciated that all the characters (good and bad) were smart, and made decisions that made sense to their position and character. I would have given it a 10 if not for the rushed ending. Like, WTH just happened? Bad editing made it so choppy. I wished we would have gotten a more complete ending. I heard their special episode left much to be desired so I will eventually watch it when it is subbed. PLEASE PLEASE have more seasons so that we can continue to follow this dynamic group of investigators.

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The Imperial Crime Scene Investigators (CSI)

Just finished this drama and I loved it. I did not expect much when I started but it has great story-line, intense actions, interesting plots and clever dialogues, re-caps of previous episodes in the beginning of new episodes, strong friendships and bromances, subtle yet sweet romances, no boring fillers or stupid misunderstandings, no jealous bitches but supportive female leads, etc.. Kudos to great direction, writing, casts and production. Even the cinematography was good. I was never bored at all watching it, did not fast forward or skip any scenes. I even binged watched this in 2 days!! This is one of my favourite C-dramas now.
I would have given 10/10, but I deducted 0.5 points for the really rushed ending. Maybe another 1 - 2 episodes to nicely wrap this lovely drama. I would have loved to see the full wedding and later married life of Prince An and Chu chu; I would like to see if the SML and SFL finally got married. Also, I need more drama to show the events that lead to the Emperor granting Chu Chu the Imperial Coroner certificate again. Maybe there will be Season 2. Let's hope so.

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Must Watch Historical Detective Drama of This Year

The Imperial Coroner is a historical detective Chinese drama of this year. With a clever storyline composed of intellectual characters, it is a work completely worth enjoying. It is about the story of a commandery prince (the male lead), and a dreamer of becoming a coroner officially (the female lead) who cross each other’s paths and solved mysteries about crimes happening within the capital (the setting of the story which is set during the Tang dynasty). With regards to its plot, it is very simple but looking through its overall content it reveals how wise it was written.

These are some certain points why this drama deserves a try from my point of perspective.

First, the production. Expecting too much from an apparently identified low budget production may bring disappointment but this one is an exception. It is without doubt that the costumes are not that absolutely pleasing to eyes however this flaw was covered when the cinematography from different angles provides a very distinct view which totally matches the temperament of drama. The editing also hints how much effort was exerted by the people behind it. In a dramaland, most dramas usually focus on the actions of the actors in the scenes or objects which may have an important function to that specific scenario, but this drama flashes a graphic illustration which entails reliable information as the character is investigating thoroughly to the origin of the case. Also, the aspect in which how the drama was arranged is different leaving us, the viewers, without any unsolicited spoilers. I’m referring to the opening and ending of the drama. Almost all of the dramas in cdramaland have opening and ending songs with some cut scenes appearing on it but this drama have the prologue instead explaining a few details of the previous episode/s which will also be the highlight of the characters’ journey on this current episode. Hence, it is drama stuffed with numerous ideas about imagery as its major weapon.

Moreover, a simple drama with interesting characters. I love it how the portrayal of the characters was all concentrated to who they are until the end with no unnecessary dynamism. I’ve seen dramas with characters that changes on the halfway and it did not end well. I mean it is fine if that character was a part of the antagonist side and transforms into a good person but if it is the other way around, I’m already fed up with that concept which only generates nothing but anxiety. All of the actors in the team are new to me yet they are all excellent in delivering their roles. Only that there are minor imperfections in some of the developments such as the “innocent” at first personality of Chu Chu which is played by Su Xiaotong (the female lead) and later it was revealed that she is “smart and crafty”. Thankful I remained until the last episode and witness her capabilities in accomplishing the description of the role. Wang Zi Qi who portrays Xiao JinYu or Prince An (the male lead) has this charm that would easily pull you into observing him and his way of acting. He is an actor with potential talents as what this drama unfolds. Only that, on the last episodes, his depiction of being a keen and sharp judge somewhat has dropped. Well, I quite understand the situation he is experiencing, at those moments, everyone is at stake so he can’t rush and make a decision to capture the principal criminal when the safety must be considered in the beginning (nevertheless, well you need to check the last episode to see what they have planned). On the other hand, the co-starring roles such as Zhao Yao Ke, Yang Ting Dong, and Wang Yan Bin displayed utmost skills to justify their roles forming a companionship which is meaningful and helpful to the two main leads (very plain manifestation of camaraderie yet with deep roots and free of toxicity).

The well-built series of events were made up coherently allowing the story to unfold step by step. Every cases handled by the leads and other characters involved has a clear and expounded explanation. The comprehensibility is also visible. The story does not only put emphasis on the answers needed to solve the case but also the assertions behind those solutions. The concept of the faction of the powerful eunuchs in the court is also an unusual outline. There are Chinese historical dramas in which the eunuchs have some influence on the palace but not extremely comparable to this one wherein the head of the eunuch which is the antagonist of this story was a leader of an army and even higher than some officials. Other notion regarding about it can be discover when you watch the drama and also the particular characters that have significant impacts to the plot. Although the ending is a little bit condensed for me, they could just have added one last episode (for the leads and supporting characters to have more time) but we seldom have a drama in cdramaland with 37 episodes, so yeah I’m still satisfied with that.

Thus, you have to watch this drama or you will be missing it. I’m favorably recommending it to those who are into historical dramas especially the crime detective genre. It is not perfect but you will truly be entertained just like what I have experienced. Also, the osts and bgm too are beautiful for the ears.

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The Dark Horse in 2021

After I finished this drama, I immediately open my computer and excited to write a review in this wonderful, captivating and enticing drama of 2021.

This drama clearly shows that the storyline, script, and meticulous director can overcome the low budget in order to produce a high-quality drama. I heard that the drafting of the script took 3 years of revision and exchanging of ideas for the writers and director. And I must say, I as a viewer was very thankful because I really enjoyed every minute of this drama. I will rant if they will not get at least one award this year.

This is so fun to watch for a crime investigation drama. I cannot remember how many times I laugh while maintaining the core of the story.

Why I love this so much?


1. Storyline
It's like Nirvana In Fire Again. You cannot skip an episode because every case, people involved and every little detail was very important in order to finally uproot the cause of the disturbances in the Tang Dynasty. It was meticulously crafted and I never get bored watching it. It's a fast pacing story, you don't need to wait tens of episodes just to solve one problem.

2. No Dumb leads/Characters
Yes! You heard it right. Prince An who is in charge of the criminal lawsuit and Chu Chu as an aspiring Coroner were both skilled in their job. They listened to each other's opinions and solved the cases based on the gathered evidence together with the other supporting characters like sly Jing Yi, loyal, overprotective brother and a great love adviser Jing Li and beautiful and strong Leng Yue. Every characters contributed in order to finish the job. love love all the characters. Even the villain was very entertaining especially the Eunuchs.

3. A cute and wholesome love story
If you hesitated to watch this just because romance is not the center of the story, please try this one. I love so much how they show their feelings and create a strong bond for their love. This is very rare in the drama land. No crappy misunderstanding. When they have doubts and insecurities they discussed and solved them like normal lovers. Every romantic scene here, I'm squealing and laughing because they are so cute. Those simple moments of teasing and encouraging each other were enough to feel that they really love each other.

4. Visualizing how they solve the cases
I must say, it's a genius to use those visual aids to show how the coroner investigates or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead. It was easy for the viewers to understand it especially for the terms and techniques that they used in investigating the dead bodies..

Overall. I think it's the best drama that I watched this 2021. Sorry The Long Ballad :( .. It will not give you a WOW factor like in every high-budget drama. I describe it as an easy watch. You don't need to be so stressed or wrack your brains out just to understand what is happening, instead, it gave a very calm feeling while watching it.

I wanted to give this a 9.5 because it was too short. It can be stretch until 40 episodes especially in the last episode. They can create more impactful finale if they have 4 episodes more, but I forgave it because the actors were so amazing esp Prince An. I can feel his anger, frustration, happiness while maintaining his dignity as Prince.

Overall it's an A+ drama for me.. Do not hesitate to watch. Even if you are not a fan of this kind of genre, you will love it I'm sure. :)

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An entertaining detective story, no major complaints but didn’t fully captivate

Chu Chu, the imperial coroner of titular fame, is a bit annoying at the beginning of the show. She comes across as young and wide-eyed, but my major issue with her is that she kept fangirling the ML. She kept gushing and I was so embarrassed for her. It could be either the delivery or the character. I almost stopped watching, but then I read some reviews which validated my annoyance and assured me it would get better, which it did. The fangirling sort of fades away.

The story actually seems to be more about the ML, Xiao Jinyu, who is one of those super-smart MLs who’s constantly outsmarting everyone. He’s also a stern prince, which is a bit tropey, but he’s sickly, which at least is not tropey. Chu Chu has her expertise and presents the evidence; it’s Jinyu who does the deductions and solves the mysteries. He’s also the one who wants them solved and directs their operations… she’s just his very capable coroner. It’s not quite a story about her as the title might imply.

The merry band of friends has other loveable characters (Jing Yi, Leng Yue, and others), each with their own personalities and backstories, though nothing too multidimensional or complicated. The main four are neatly split into two couples with no (or minor) silly love dramas, which is a plus.

The love story between the ML and FL is actually not bad. I did find it weird to watch a child be in a relationship, and found it helpful to try to forget about some of her earlier behaviors. And I liked that the show didn’t focus too heavily on their romance. Many of the conversations between them are just business, nothing too mushy. This left me focusing on the mysteries, which is always fun (and I thought done fairly well in this show), and the political backstory, which required some untangling.

This show is set in the Tang dynasty. Somebody else’s review explained some of the history of the emperors, and I had to keep referring to it as I was watching to avoid total confusion (thank you, fellow drama watchers). This show does use real life historical figures, which is a bold move. I think the story is fairly correct about the overall climate with the eunuchs and power struggles, as well as of course the actual tangled mess succession of emperors, but it makes up things around it.

I did google briefly, but I wasn’t inspired to research to the same extent as for e.g. The Long Ballad. It might be because the historical figures didn’t factor as prominently, or I found them to be less interesting (like srsly, bunch of people killing each other), or maybe just the show was less beautifully done so it didn’t quite set off my imagination. It has a bit of a darker palette, which is not inherently bad but not my preference. And it is, after all, not really a high budget production.

The show doesn’t have a low budget feel per se, though I did notice things like the emperor always being in one room. I think they did well with what they had. The actors and actresses are also less well known, but I think they did fine. A lot of them went to film school, can’t be too bad.

This was a show I enjoyed, with decent humor and fun sprinkled throughout, but the story and characters didn’t fully captivate me. I was entertained but not obsessed. Only as it was nearing its end did I realize how much the characters had grown on me, and that I had enjoyed this show maybe more than I realized.

ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS





It’s probably not even a spoiler to say that they solve everything and defeat the enemy, and everything works out. I guess the show was not that suspenseful because I don’t remember ever doubting that they would triumph. But if I recall correctly, the ending was even fluffier than I anticipated, with minimal sacrifice. You don’t even feel bad for the enemy, like there was a whiff of that and they snuffed it out. And Chu Chu even gets to keep her job (which was in doubt for a minute). You know what, I don’t mind, sometimes I just want to feel good.

I wasn’t too concerned by lack of resolutions because I was convinced that there was a second season. I wouldn’t have thought this show needed a sequel, but S2 has a page on MDL. Only after I finished and went to look for it, did I realize that it doesn’t exist yet. As of Q1 2025, there are still fans regularly hyping up S2 on MDL… but I’ll believe it when I see it.

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